V-belt drive

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a cotter key with an upper guiding part containing a cam element ( 20 ) and a cam guiding element ( 10 ), and with a lower guiding part containing a driver element ( 40 ), the upper guiding part ( 10, 20 ) being holdable and/or held together by at least one guiding clamp ( 30 ).

[0001] The invention relates to a cotter key with an upper guiding partcontaining a cam element and a cam guiding element, and with a lowerguiding part containing a driver element.

[0002] Such cotter keys are familiar. They are used especially in toolsin metalworking, e.g. presses. Usually connected to the cotter keys aredevices permitting punching or some other forming process. The cotterkeys are moved by means of the cam guiding element by a drive applyingwhat is generally a vertical pressing force. By means of the driverelement, the cotter keys are fastened in the tool or press to a baseplate on which the workpiece to be machined is placed directly or on asuitable support element. DE 197 53 549 C2, for instance, describes acotter key for the deflection of a vertical pressing force that has adriver element with a prismatic surface. Here, the flanks of theprismatic surface fall away outward. Furthermore, positive returns arearranged on two opposite sides in the respective grooves of the camelement and driver element. This therefore ensures that, in the event ofthe breakage of a spring element returning the cam element to itsstarting position, the cam element is returned in the event of springbreakage in order to prevent screwed-on punch elements from breakingoff. The cam element is fastened to the cam guiding element with guideangles and retaining screws and can be moved along the guide anglesrelative to the cam guiding element.

[0003] U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,705 describes another cotter key on which,however, the cam element is also suspended from guide angles or fastenedby means of these to the cam guiding element. For this it is necessarythat the plates resting against each other and the elements required forfastening are precisely ground in in order to ensure the running playnecessary between the cam element and cam guiding element. In the caseof the cotter key disclosed in this publication and also in the case ofthe other known cotter keys on which the cam guiding element and camelement are connected together by means of guide angles and screws, itproves to be disadvantageous that all the tensile forces are introducedinto the screws, as a result of which the running play of the camguiding element and cam element moving against each other is impaired atthe very moment when an expansion of the screws or of the materialsurrounding them takes place. This subsequently results in diminishedstability, as the wear due the twisting of the tool in this area isparticularly increased. It also proves to be disadvantageous that thecam element when it warms up cannot expand laterally as it isconstricted in this respect by the guide angles. This can also lead toincreased wear of the tool and at worst to such reduced running playthat the movement of the cam element and cam guiding element againsteach other becomes virtually impossible.

[0004] The invention therefore is based on the object of eliminatingthese disadvantages and providing a cotter key whose service life isconsiderably longer than that of cotter keys of the prior art and onwhich as little impairment as possible of running play can occur.

[0005] Said object is achieved for a cotter key according to thepreamble of claim 1, in that the upper guiding part is holdable and/orheld together by at least one guiding clamp. Further embodiments of theinvention are defined in the dependent claims.

[0006] This consequently yields a cotter key on which in particular thecam element and cam guiding element are held together by at least oneguiding clamp. As a result it is not necessary to precisely grind inadditional guide angles or other devices connecting these two elementsin order to ensure the necessary running play. Furthermore, running playis also not impaired if the cotter key or tool warms up, since not onlythe production tolerances, but also any expansion of the material can beaccommodated by the connection via a guiding clamp. The cotter key'sstability is therefore neither impaired nor diminished. And despite ofthe omission of grinding-in, high running precision can be achieved.Moreover, this also reduces the cost of the cotter key considerably, asnot only less material is required, but also less effort in the joiningtogether of cam guiding element, cam element and driver element.

[0007] The guiding clamp(s) is/are preferably positively engageable orpreferably positively engage(s) with the cam guiding element. The camelement is thus suspended via the guiding clamps from the cam guidingelement by means of this positive engagement. Consequently, it is nolonger necessary to provide retention on the cam guiding element withthe aid of screws, which are firstly subject to wear and secondly canbring about the already mentioned impairment of running play on becomingwarm. As a result, it is possible to advantageously achieve considerablyhigher retention forces between the cam element and cam guiding elementthan are possible with the prior art. Moreover, the service life of thecotter key can be extended several times over.

[0008] The at least one guiding clamp preferably has retainingprojections by means of which the guiding clamp engages with a part ofthe cam guiding element, said retaining projections having a slope. Theretaining projections can for instance be molded nose-like onto anessentially flat base body of the guiding clamp. In another preferredembodiment they are formed as keys aligned in the longitudinal directionof the guiding clamp and protruding from the flat base body of theclamp. The retaining projections more preferably have a slight slope, inparticular a slope of about 1° toward the driver element. This slope ispreferably provided only on one side of the retaining projections andpermits the linear and parallel displacement of at least one guidingclamp in the direction of stroke of the cotter key. This preferablypermits a linear adjustment of the guiding play and/or a setting of thesliding play between the upper and lower guide parts by the guidingclamp(s). The guiding clamp and upper guide part more preferably engagewith each other in such a way that a linear displacement of the guidingclamp in the direction of stroke of the cotter key leads to a change inthe guiding play transversely to the driver element's direction ofaction, while the linearity of the guiding play remains essentiallyconstant. Due to the linear adjustment or displacement of the guidingclamp in the direction of stroke of the cotter key, the guiding playthus changes transversely to the driver element's direction of action asa result of the slight slope of in particular 1° without any change inthe guiding play's linearity. From the possibility of achieving a linearadjustment of the guiding play, any wear occurring in continuousoperation can be advantageously counteracted quickly and henceinexpensively.

[0009] Each individual part produced on the tool generally has its owntolerance zone, the cam guiding element only being permitted to have asliding play of in particular 0.02 mm in this area to achieve thedemanded running precision. Achieving this with cotter keys of the priorart on which it is envisaged that the cam element and cam guidingelement are screwed together is very complex and cost-intensive asconstant reworking is necessary combined with repeated removal andre-fitting. With the advantageous use of a guiding clamp and as a resultof its mere parallel displacement, the sliding play can beadvantageously changed, as a result of which the previously necessaryindividual work steps become superfluous, namely the measuring andgrinding-in of the individual elements of the cotter key. Productiontolerances can thus be advantageously compensated for, thus yieldingconsiderably lower production costs of the individual parts beingproduced.

[0010] The cam element and cam guiding element preferably haveessentially the same width. Furthermore, they preferably haveessentially parallel faces on which the at least one guiding clamp isfastenable. This proves to be advantageous as a cotter key should beguided not only in the area of its lower guiding part with a constantsliding play of, for example, 0.02 mm, but also at the sides, whichproves to be very complicated with cotter keys of the prior art. Byproviding guiding clamps in combination with a cam element and camguiding element of essentially the same width, the complex grinding-inof the faces resting or sliding against each other can firstly beeliminated. Secondly, it is totally immaterial how large the actualwidth of the cam element and cam guiding element is as long as bothelements are essentially equally wide. To achieve the demanded runningplay or sliding play, only two faces, namely the two parallel facesopposite one another, are provided, to which the guiding clamp isfastened. As a result of the contiguity of the essentially flat basebody of the guiding clamp to the outer faces of the cam element and camguiding element, an adjustment of the two elements is thus achieved,which in turn yields the desired running precision, even in those caseswhere either the guiding clamp or cam element or cam guiding element issubstituted or replaced by a replacement part. Consequently, it ispossible to achieve, firstly, inexpensive production and, secondly,equally inexpensive operation of the cotter key.

[0011] The lower and/or upper guiding part preferably has a prismaticpart and/or at least a prismatic surface to guide the cam element and/orto take up lateral forces for the generation of high running precision.Since the working face of the cotter key preferably extends over theentire width of the cotter key, the prismatic part and/or the prismaticsurface can preferably be provided in the lower guiding part to driveand/or to guide the upper guiding part. The bigger the prismatic partand/or the prismatic surface is, the more easily and thus also betterthe upper guiding part can be driven and guided on it and in particularthe cam element can be driven and guided on the driver element. The camguiding element and/or cam element can also have prismatic faces, inparticular faces sliding on each other or faces joinable to each other.The prismatic part/prismatic surface is preferably dimensioned inrelation to the dimensions—and particularly the width—and other physicalcharacteristics of the cam element. In this connection, the cotter keypreferably has an essentially uniform width over the entire extension ofthe width. It is thus possible to ideally dimension the prismaticpart/prismatic surface in relation to the width of the cam element,which has an enormous effect on the running life and service life of thecotter key. A driver element or cam guiding element or cam element withan especially large prismatic surface or an especially large prismaticpart is advantageously capable of receiving larger pressing forcesapplied vertically, of better withstanding thrust forces by means of itsV-shape, and thus improving running precision. Improved runningprecision combined with greater pressing forces represents an aim of acotter key. Moreover, by providing prismatic surfaces, a better constantsetting is possible. The actual width of the cotter key has an effect onthe degree of stability of the driver element. Through the use of theprismatic part/prismatic surface, a further improvement in the runninglife and service life of the cotter key can thus be achieved, and inparticular the compactness of the cam guiding element and cam elementachieved through the use of the guiding clamps can be exploited evenbetter for the effective machining of a workpiece.

[0012] A spring element, particularly a gas spring, is preferablyprovided to return the cam element and is secured in the cam element anddetachable by means of a securing element, particularly a securingscrew. The use of two guiding clamps makes a compact design of thecotter key possible. This in turn makes it possible for a gas spring oranother spring element used to return the slide element to be replacedwith ease in its assembled state and without necessitating the completedisassembly of the cotter key. Since a gas spring in particular, as wellas other spring elements, have to be replaced as wearing partsrelatively often during the operation of a press, a punching tool orother tool in which the cotter key is fitted, this easy assembly anddisassembly proves to be particularly advantageous as now the completeremoval of the cotter key from the tool and the subsequent disassemblyof the cotter key are no longer necessary. Particularly advantageously,a securing screw can be released and removed, as a result of which thespring element can also be preferably disassembled in this direction.Advantageously, on the other hand, no further securing measures arenecessary to secure the spring element in the cotter key apart from theprovision of the securing screw. This not only reduces the cost ofmaterials and effort in production, but also yields an even more compactcotter key design.

[0013] The individual cotter key elements sliding on each other arepreferably made of a material combination of bronze and hardened steel,particularly in combination with a lubricant, particularly a solidlubricant. In this case, the wearing parts, which have to be replacedmore frequently anyway, are made of soft bronze, which wears fasterthan, for instance, hardened steel. As a result, virtually no wear takesplace over an extended period in the cotter key proper, i.e. theelements cam guiding element, cam element and driver element. The onlyparts that have to be replaced are those provided on the guiding faces,such as wear plates etc. By adjusting the guiding clamps it is possibleto compensate for sliding play increased by wear. A particularlyadvantageous consequence of this is that the expensive grinding-in ofthe wear parts having to be replaced is no longer necessary. This factis of exceptional importance particularly for service life, as a cotterkey is usually stressed and operated with extremely high pressing forcesand thus the guiding faces and wear plates are exposed to high wear.

[0014] Positive returns are preferably provided to prevent the action oflateral moments on the cotter key between the driver element and camelement. In this connection, the cam element is thus particularlypreferably displaceably connectable or connected to the driver elementin such a way that the prismatic part/prismatic surface of the driverelement can essentially only be lifted off in its starting position. Theprovision of two positive returns arranged opposite each other, whichare designed in particular as clamps between the cam element and driverelement, makes trouble-free further operation possible even in the eventof the jamming or immobility of the cotter key without lateral momentsacting upon the cotter key. Particularly in automatic operation, strokerates of 13 to 25 strokes/min are achieved, which is why a temporarydisturbance due to the immobility or jamming of the cotter key would becostly. The cam element is employed on the driver element in such a waythat the cam element initially has to travel a working distance into itsstarting position before it can be lifted off the prismatic surface.This prevents the cam element in its forward working position from beingpulled upward out of the driver element, which would generally result inthe breakage of the forming device, particularly a punching die. Thepositive return can have a clamp-like design and engage in acorresponding guide member of the driver element, in which case itengages in the cam element preferably with a groove or a similar recessor opening. To exclude the occurrence of biased moments, the cotter keyis preferably provided in the relevant area, particularly that of thecam element and driver element, with positive returns on both sides.

[0015] A fixed face for creating a reproducible starting position forthe cotter key is preferably provided between the cam guiding elementand the cam element. For the reproducible adjustment of the cotter key,which has a sloping face that is movable back and forward over two othersloping guiding faces, in a tool the sloping fixed face between thecotter key and its receiving element can be selected as an adjustingface; a spacer, whose dimensions correspond to the desired distancebetween the adjusting face and a sloping face of the cotter key, saidsloping face of the cotter key being at a fixed angle to the slopingface, can be laid on the adjusting face; and the cotter key can be fixedin this position or fastened in the tool. Such a fixed face can be aninner face of the cam guiding element to which the spacer can be joinedand the cam element with the spring element can travel against it. Theadjusting face preferably serves as a reproducible fixed face forfirst-time assembly in the tool. However, the fixed face also proves tobe particularly advantageous for the constant checking and possiblechanging of the position of the cotter key. This may be necessary inparticular if the cotter key is continuously driven back and forwardduring operation, in particular if the cotter key moves a punching dieor a mold cheek, as the cotter key then can always be returned to areproducible point or to a reproducible face and adjusted. Areproducible starting position is therefore yielded. This saves laborconsiderably compared to the adjustment of a cotter key as described inthe prior art. The necessary assembly time for the adjustment andassembly of the cotter key can be reduced with this process by about 80percent, which also represents a considerable reduction in costs.Further adjustment of the cam element and cam guiding element relativeto each other no longer has to be carried out as, if the inventiveguiding clamps are used, these two elements are already adjustedrelative to each other due to their use. No additional adjustment efforttherefore arises if the guiding clamps are used.

[0016] For more detailed explanation of the invention, embodimentsthereof will now be described in greater detail with reference to thedrawings wherein:

[0017]FIG. 1 shows a top view of the inventive cotter key with twoguiding clamps;

[0018]FIG. 2 shows a sectional view through the cotter key according toFIG. 1, in which the cam element on the driver element has been driveninto its working position;

[0019]FIG. 3 shows a sectional view through the cotter key according toFIG. 2, in which the cam element on the driver element is at rest in itsstarting position;

[0020]FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of travel paths during the movement ofthe cam guiding element, cam element and driver element according toFIGS. 2 and 3;

[0021]FIG. 5 shows a sectional view through the cam element and driverelement with positive returns; and

[0022]FIG. 6 shows a top view of the cam guiding element in partialsection and driver element.

[0023]FIG. 1 shows a top view of a first embodiment of an inventivecotter key 1. This has a cam guiding element 10 and a cam element 20,which are connected together by two guiding clamps 30. To displace thecam element in relation to the cam guiding element, a spring element 50is also provided. The spring element 50 is embedded in the cam elementand is in particular a gas spring. This rests, as can be seen better inFIGS. 2 and 3, on one side against the cam guiding element 10 and on theother side against the cam element 20.

[0024] The guiding clamps 30 each have retaining projections 31. Theretaining projections 31 are each provided with a slope 32 which isorientated toward the driver element and can be seen better in FIG. 2.The slope is orientated in particular at an angle of 1° toward thedriver element. Even in the event of material expansion, this ensuressecure retention on the cam guiding element and cam element, constantrunning play or sliding play and thus the possibility of constantlylinear, parallel displacement of the guiding clamps on the cam guidingelement and cam element in order to compensate for any wear or any othertolerances that may occur. The retention projections 31 engage withcorresponding grooves 11, 21 of the cam guiding element and cam element,as a result of which the guiding clamps fit positively in at least thegroove 11 of the cam guiding element in the direction of the clamp. Forfurther fastening of the guiding clamps on the cam guiding element, theclamps are connected together with screws 33. These can either bereplaced by other fastening means or be omitted entirely. Thesepreferably permit the movement of the guiding clamps for theiradjustment, as can be seen better in FIG. 2.

[0025] To ensure the better sliding of the cam element and cam guidingelement on each other, between the two elements a wear plate 12 isinserted which is fastened with screws 13 to the cam guiding element. Inthe area of the guiding clamps 30, the cam guiding element and camelement have essentially the same width, as a result of which smoothcontact against the outer faces of the cam guiding element and camelement is possible. In the area outside the grooves 11, 21, the camguiding element, cam element and the outer faces of the guiding clampsalso have essentially the same width and form essentially a level face.As a result of the assembly of the two guiding lamps on the mutuallyopposite, parallel outer faces of the cam guiding element and camelement, an extremely low sliding or running play of the cam guidingelement and cam element against each other can even be achieved, inparticular a sliding play of 0.02 mm. This is particularly evident fromFIG. 2. This figure shows a sectional view through the cotter key 1,though, unlike the representation in FIG. 1, also showing the driverelement 40. FIG. 1 thus shows a top view as indicated by the arrow X. Inthe representation in FIG. 2, the cotter key is shown in its workingposition. In this case, the cam element, which has a sloping face 23,along which it is contiguous to the wear plate 12, which also has asloping arrangement in space, is displaced along the driver element 40into its working position. In this position, the punching or forming ofa workpiece, for example, can be carried out, a corresponding additionaldevice being fastened for this purpose to the side 22 of the cam element20. The side 22 and the sloping face 23, to which the spring element 50is contiguous, form an angle α, which can assume a value of 40°, forexample. This angle is chosen according to the pressing force to beapplied and according to the angle of the connecting face to the driverelement. It can therefore also assume a value deviating from α=40°.

[0026] The sloping spring element 50 rests against an inner face 14 ofthe cam guiding element 10, said inner face being essentially verticalto a wear plate 12, and is supported on the opposite side by a bearingplate 51 and a bearing piece 52 fastened to it, which is screwed intothe cam element, in the cam element 20. The purpose of the springelement is to return the cam element to its starting position, which isshown in FIG. 3. A return force can amount, for example, to 800 newtons,and the pressing force, which is applied by the cam guiding element tothe cam element, can amount to 3 metric tons. This pressing force isintroduced by a corresponding drive device, which is not represented inFIG. 2, into the upper side 15 of the cam guiding element. To this end,a recess 16 and two external through holes 17 are provided. This can beseen from FIG. 6. As a consequence of the connection of the cam guidingelement and cam element by means of the guiding clamps 30 and theresultant advantage of the possibility of providing a narrower upperguiding part which contains the cam guiding element and the cam element,even greater forces can be deflected. For instance, if the upper guidingpart 10, 20 has a width of 80 mm, a pressing force of 20 to 26 t can bedeflected, whereas a deflection of only 3 t is possible with a width of140 mm according to the prior art. Furthermore, it is possible for theupper guiding part to have a width of only 50 mm, for instance in orderto be integrated in a machine in which little space is available for thecotter key. This is not possible with cotter keys of the prior art, asbulky screw joints are provided on these, which necessitate that thecotter key has a certain minimum width.

[0027] To replace the spring element, only the bearing plate 51 has tobe released by loosening the screw 53 provided on it and the springelement can be removed. This is preferably performed from direction X,which is indicated in FIG. 2. A new spring element can be inserted inthe same direction and secured in the cam element by the bearing platewith the screw 53.

[0028]FIGS. 2 and 3 show a driver element 40, along whose surface thecam element is displaced. In order to secure these two elements to eachother, particularly in order to prevent the action of lateral moments onthe cotter key as a whole in this area, positive returns 60 are providedon both sides. The positive returns, as can be seen better in FIG. 5,are clamp-like and engage both with the cam element and with the driverelement with corresponding retaining projections 61. They are firmlyconnected to the cam element with screws 62. In the driver element atravel member 41 is formed, along which the lower retaining projection61 of the respective positive return 60 is displaced by means of themovement of the cam element. The upper guiding part, consisting of thecam guiding element and cam element, can only be lifted off the lowerguiding part, the driver element 40, in its working position, namely theposition of the cam element shown in FIG. 3. Here, the lower retainingprojection of the positive return 60 has left the travel member 41,which is why the lifting-off of the upper guiding part from the lowerguiding part is possible in this position. This prevents damage to oneof the forming or punching devices which is fitted to the side 22 of thecam element; these forming or punching devices are driven in the workingposition into a workpiece for its machining and could be destroyedfailing the possibility of direct detachment. The detachment of theupper guiding part is necessary, for example, in the event of a fault,so that this fault can be remedied as quickly as possible.

[0029] In order to subsequently achieve exact positioning and adjustmentwithin the tool after such a lifting-off of the upper guiding part fromthe lower guiding part, a fixed face 2 is preferably defined in thetool, on the basis of which an adjustment of the cotter key can takeplace during first-time assembly and during later fitting and removal.Both FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 show this fixed face 2 as well as further lineswhich have a parallel arrangement with other slopes and horizontal andvertical faces of the upper and lower guiding parts of the cotter key.The fixed face 2 is situated preferably on the contact face of thespring element or cam element. It can also basically be situated on theopposite side of the spring element in the cam guiding element 10, butthen the end of the spring element, and not the cam element 20 itself,serves as the contact part. The base face 42 of the driver element isnot displaced in height during operation. As can be seen from acomparison of FIGS. 2 and 3, however, the cam guiding element isdisplaced during operation in terms of its height in relation to thehorizontal line 3. The side 22 of the cam element only changes itsdistance from the vertical line 4 during operation. A line 5 parallelwith the sloping face 23 is also formed. The distance of the face 23from the line 5 preferably does not change during operation. All lines3, 4, 5 meet at a so-called tooling point 6, which is a standardizationpart. For the first-time adjustment of the cotter key, a spacer notshown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is employed, which has parallel walls, thedistance between which corresponds to the distance between an adjustingor fixed face 2 and the outer face 18 of the cam element 20 in itsstarting position. The spacer is placed against the sloping fixed face 2in terms of the outer face 18 and makes it possible to adjust the cotterkey in this position, i.e. parallel with the fixed face 2. It isprecisely because of the magnitude of the forces to be deflected by thecotter key that precise adjustment should be carried out here.

[0030] The travel paths covered during the deflection of the forces bythe individual components of the cotter key are shown in FIG. 4. Thelength a indicates the travel path by which the cam guiding element andcam element are displaced against each other, the length b the travelpath by which the pressing force acting upon the cam guiding elementdisplaces it vertically in height, and the length c the travel path bywhich the cam element is thus displaced along the driver element. Thetravel path lengths a, b, c can have any desired magnitudes, as a resultof which in particular the relative lengths may also differ from thoseillustrated.

[0031] The already above-mentioned FIG. 5 shows a top view of the camelement and part of the driver element in the direction of the arrow Yas shown in FIG. 2. As already mentioned, the cam element and driverelement are connected by the positive return 60. Moreover, the camelement runs on a prismatic part 43 of the driver element. To thisprismatic part 43 to generate better sliding properties, wear plates 24are joined, which are fitted to the underside of the cam element 20. Thetwo wear plates 24 are supported on the two flanks 44 of the of theprismatic part 43. The two flanks 44 are arranged at a relatively obtuseangle to each other, thus yielding a relatively large width of runningface. This means that a precise guidance of the cam element on thedriver element can be achieved. Since, however, the driver element inthe illustrated case is narrower than the cam element, although thelatter has essentially the same width as the cam guiding element, andthe cam element is seated symmetrically on the driver element or itsprismatic part, there are no shifts in the force relationships on thetwo flanks 44, which means that very good uniform runningcharacteristics can be achieved here as well. Lateral thrust forces canalso be withstood very effectively and larger pressing forces can betaken up very effectively, even vertically. Owing to the provision ofthe two guiding clamps on either side of the cam guiding element and camelement and the provision of the spring element centered in the body ofthe cam element, the pressing forces introduced into the cam guidingelement are distributed uniformly over the entire cotter key, so thatrunning precision and smooth running can be optimized during thedisplacement of the cam element on the prismatic part of the driverelement.

[0032] As the lateral forces acting precisely upon the cotter key canhinder or at least impair displacement, the fixed face 2 and/or theopposite face 19 are designed in another embodiment as a V-guide. Such aV-guide is particularly good at receiving higher forces. Furthermore,the other guiding faces, particularly guiding face 18 and face 23, canalso have a prismatic shape.

[0033] A rough impression of the relative sizes of the cam guidingelement and the driver element can be obtained from the sectional topview in FIG. 6. The cam guiding element can be seen in the upper partand the top view of the driver element in the lower part. The sectionA-A indicated in this figure is presented in FIGS. 2 and 3.

[0034] The faces running on each other are preferably made of a materialcombination of a hard and a soft material, particularly of a combinationof soft bronze and hardened steel, with a lubricant, particularly agrease or solid lubricant, particularly oil and graphite, beingpreferably used between the surfaces. As the wearing parts should bemade of the soft bronze or a soft material, the wear plates 18, 24 aremade of this material, while the driver element and cam element arepreferably made of hardened steel. The guiding clamps 30 are alsopreferably made of bronze, particularly in order firstly to permit goodretention and secondly to provide the desired adjustability in orderthat the sliding play can be set accordingly.

[0035] In addition to the embodiments shown and described in the abovefigures, numerous other embodiments of cotter keys are still possible,on which in each case the upper guiding part, containing in particularthe cam guiding element and cam element, is held together with guidingclamps. The arrangement and other physical design of the cotter key canbe freely chosen as long as the advantages resulting from the connectionof its elements of the upper guiding parts with guiding clamps areretained. For example, the cam guiding element can also be actuated by ahorizontal pressing force, in which case the cam element is thendisplaced vertically. The provision of guiding clamps proves to beadvantageous here as well. However, these can have a differentorientation in space and a different shape, which is preferably adaptedto the particular case. Guiding clamps can thus be providedindependently of an alternative design and travel plane of the cotterkey. They permit not only a special stability of the cotter key, butalso a compact design, high running precision and the taking-up andgeneration of high pressing forces. Cotter keys with guiding clamps canalso be produced inexpensively, as in particular no reworking isnecessary as on the prior art for adjustment purposes, which on theprior art is regularly associated with repeated removal and re-fittingof the cotter key and its individual parts, such as the cam guidingelement and cam element.

Key to the Drawing

[0036]1 Cotter key

[0037]2 Fixed face

[0038]3 Horizontal line

[0039]4 Vertical line

[0040]5 Sloping line

[0041]6 Tooling point

[0042]10 Cam guiding element

[0043]11 Groove

[0044]12 Wear plate

[0045]13 Screw

[0046]14 Inner side

[0047]15 Upper side

[0048]16 Opening

[0049]17 Through hole

[0050]18 Guiding face

[0051]19 Face

[0052]20 Cam element

[0053]21 Groove

[0054]22 Side

[0055]23 Sloping face

[0056]24 Wear plate

[0057]30 Guiding clamp

[0058]31 Retaining projections

[0059]32 Slope

[0060]33 Screw

[0061]40 Driver element

[0062]41 Travel member

[0063]42 Base face

[0064]43 Prismatic part

[0065]44 Flanks

[0066]50 Spring element

[0067]51 Bearing plate

[0068]52 Bearing piece

[0069]53 Securing screw

[0070]60 Positive return

[0071]61 Retaining projection

[0072]62 Screw

[0073] α Angle in cam element

[0074] a Travel path

[0075] b Travel path

[0076] c Travel path

1. A cotter key with an upper guiding part containing a cam element (20)and a cam guiding element (10), and with a lower guiding part containinga driver element (40), characterized in that the upper guiding part (10,20) is holdable and/or held together by at least one guiding clamp (30).2. The cotter key according to claim 1, characterized in that the atleast one guiding clamp (30) joins the cam element (20) and the camguiding element (10) together.
 3. The cotter key according to claim 1 or2, characterized in that the guiding clamp(s) (30) is/are engageableand/or engage(s) positively with the cam guiding element (10) and/orwith the cam element (20).
 4. The cotter key according to any of thepreceding claims, characterized in that the at least one guiding clamp(30) has retaining projections (31) by means of which it engages with apart (11) of the cam guiding element (10), said retaining projectionshaving a slope (32).
 5. The cotter key according to claim 4,characterized in that the retaining projections (31) have a slight slope(32), in particular a slope of essentially 1° in the direction of thedriver element (40).
 6. The cotter key according to claim 4 or 5,characterized in that linear adjustment of the guiding play and/or thesetting of the sliding play between the upper (10, 20) and lower guidingpart (40) is provided by the guiding clamp(s) (30), in particular thatthe guiding clamp(s) (30) and the upper guiding part (10, 20) are soengageable with each other that a linear displacement of the guidingclamp(s) in the direction of stroke of the cotter key (1) leads to achange in the guiding play transversely to the direction of action ofthe driver element (40), while the linearity of the guiding play remainsessentially constant.
 7. The cotter key according to any of thepreceding claims, characterized in that the cam element (20) and the camguiding element (10) have essentially the same width and in particularessentially parallel faces, to which the at least one guiding clamp (30)can be fastened.
 8. The cotter key according to any of the precedingclaims, characterized in that the lower and/or upper guiding part (10,20, 40) has a prismatic part (43) and/or at least a prismatic surface toguide the cam element (20) and/or to take up lateral forces for thegeneration of high running precision.
 9. The cotter key according to anyof the preceding claims, characterized in that the cotter key (1) has anessentially uniform width over its entire width extension.
 10. Thecotter key according to any of the preceding claims, characterized inthat one or more fixed faces (2) is/are provided for the generation of areproducible starting position of the cotter key between the cam guidingelement and the cam element.
 11. The cotter key according to any of thepreceding claims, characterized in that a spring element (50),particularly a gas spring, is provided to return the cam element (20),which by means of a securing element, particularly a securing screw(53), is secured in the cam element and removable by means of it. 12.The cotter key according to any of the preceding claims, characterizedin that the individual elements sliding on one another are made of amaterial combination of bronze and hardened steel, particularly incombination with a lubricant, particularly a solid lubricant.
 13. Thecotter key according to any of the preceding claims, characterized inthat positive returns (60) are provided to prevent the action of lateralmoments on the cotter key between the driver element (40) and camelement (20).
 14. The cotter key according to claim 13, characterized inthat the cam element (20) is displaceably connectable or connected tothe driver element (40) so that lifting-off from the prismatic part (43)is essentially only possible in the starting position.
 15. A process forthe reproducible adjustment of a cotter key (1), in particular accordingto any of the preceding claims, with a sloping face (23), which ismovable back and forward over two additional sloping guiding faces (18,44), in a tool, characterized in that a sloping fixed face (2) betweenthe cotter key (1) and its receiving element in the tool is selected asan adjusting face, a spacer, whose dimensions correspond to the desireddistance between the adjusting face (2) and a sloping face (19) of thecotter key, said sloping face of the cotter key being at a fixed angleto the sloping face (23), is laid on the adjusting face, and the cotterkey (1) is fixed in this position or fastened in the tool.